If you want a concrete example of the unanticipated harm that could come from the United States going over the fiscal cliff, look no further than Build America Bonds, an efficient alternative way to subsidize state and local investments. They are part of the spending that is scheduled to be reduced in January.

Rising demand and falling supply are spurring talk in the arid West of outside-the-box ideas like piping water from the nation's heartland and towing Arctic icebergs south to help thirsty U.S. cities like Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Federal officials say rising demand and falling supply pose a risk of water shortages over the next 50 years for some 40 million people, including Native Americans, businesses, ranchers and farmers in seven Western states dependent on the Colorado River.